Hindsight
by wanheda08
Summary: What if a little hindsight brought a whole new world of possibilities?
1. Hindsight

Her plane had barely touched the ground when Teddy hailed a taxi, racing to Grey-Sloan. The "babymoon," as Tom had called it, had been a disaster. He complained about the things that Owen said and did over and over. And just when Teddy thought he was done, he started up again. No matter what she said attempting to reassure him, To kept stewing, making him almost unbearable to deal with. He had been so possessive, barely giving her any room to breathe after what had happened at Avery's party. He had planned every minute of every day, and while Teddy enjoyed spa treatments and facials as much as the next girl, the pregnant trauma surgeon just wanted to relax and spend a few days reading on the beach.

"Teddy! I didn't think you were coming back for three more days?" Meredith exclaimed, as Teddy walked into the almost empty ER, pulling her from her thoughts.

A grimace passed over Teddy's face as she answered, "That was the plan, but I booked an earlier flight. I couldn't stand to be away anymore."

Meredith raised as eyebrow before responding, "The look on your face right now says differently, my friend. Your emotions show all over your face."

"You sound just like Owen. Since the day I met the man in the middle of a war zone, he has always said I wear my heart on my sleeve," the older woman chuckled as she leaned against the main nurses' station. "The truth is Tom was driving me crazy, suffocating me after his brawl with Owen at Jackson's, so I booked a flight home. When I told him I was leaving, it turned into a HUGE argument that ended with him accusing me of still being in love with Owen."

"Wow. Well I have to admit that it did catch me off guard to see you there with Koracick. The man is a surgical genius, but he's also a creep sometimes." Meredith said, looking down at the tablet in her hand. "So did you tell Owen that you're back early? With everything that has been going on with him, I'm sure he has a lot of things to tell you."

Teddy looked back at her friend, a puzzled look on her face. "No. I didn't get a chance before my flight boarded, and I was more interested about getting here than turning my phone back on once we landed in Seattle. I guess I should probably do that."

Meredith nodded in agreement. "Yeah that would be a good idea. Labs are back on my consult, but I will catch up with you later."

As Meredith walked away, Teddy waddled around the desk and sat down, pulling her phone from her bag. Turning the device on, she braced herself for the texts and voicemails she knew were waiting from Tom. Their argument had been fairly heated, and she didn't wait to calm down before she grabbed her luggage and headed for the airport. Now she wasn't sure if she wanted to face the aftermath of her choice to leave just yet.

When the phone vibrated in her hand, she looked down to see multiple missed texts and calls from not only Tom but Owen as well. She took a deep breath and read Owen's first message from four days ago. All it said was "You were right."

Quickly unlocking her phone, Teddy read words that brought tears to her eyes.

"They brought Leo back. Betty's parents said that she deserved to be a kid, and they knew that Leo already had a family that loved him. Amelia moved out. She said that she would be in Leo's life, but she knew that even though my brain kept telling me that I was choosing her, my heart chose you seven months ago when I went to Germany just to tell you how much I love you."

"Dr. Altman? Are you alright?" Schmidt asked, scaring her. She had been so absorbed in Owen's text that she hadn't heard him walk up.

Wiping the tears that had escaped, she replied, "I'm okay, Schmidt. Watching a sappy animal video and these damn pregnancy hormones got me." She lied, but she wasn't about to explain her complicated life to the intern standing in front of her.

"Okay.'" he answered with a shrug as he grabbed a tablet and walked towards the patient beds.

The blonde looked around before she went back to her phone. Opening the text again, she continued reading.

"Hearing her say those words out loud after my fight with Koracick and our argument that followed, made me stop and finally admit to myself that she was right and has been all along. I didn't stop loving you when you kicked me out in Germany. I didn't stop wanting to be with you when I decided to foster Leo. And no matter how made your stubborn ass made me when you waited so long to tell me about our daughter, I still prayed that I would get to have my cake and eat it too. That I could become Leo's father and get to be with you and raise both kids together as a family."

"Maybe I screwed it all up, and blamed it on everything and everyone else instead of admitting my true feelings. I know I probably won't get the chance to be with you after everything I've done and said, but I hope you can forgive me, Teddy, because I love you. I'm in love with you. I haven't stopped loving you since the first time I laid eyes on you in the middle of the desert, in a war zone. You are it for me, Theodora Altman. You and our little girl."

Teddy felt the breath catch in her chest as she came to the end of the thread. Her mind was racing from the words that Owen had written. So much had happened in the last seven months. She had made so many decisions and said so many things trying to do what was best for everyone. Now everything that she thought was settled had been up-ended all over again.

As if sensing her mother's stress, the baby started kicking, pulling Teddy from her emotional spiral. She pressed her hand into the side of her bump, feeling her daughters tiny foot push back against her. That pressure again her hand brought a smile to her face, reminding her that the life growing beneath her fingers was one that she had prayed for for so long. Reminded her that her daughter deserved to be happy and have two parents that are happy too.

Looking back at her phone, the woman realized that she had twelve unopened texts from Tom. While she had no desire to deal with that situation at the moment, she also knew sooner would be better than later.

She immediately regretted opening the messages. For most of the messages, Tom was apologizing for their argument and the harsh words he had said. The final message had been sent not long after Teddy's flight had lenaded. He told her that he had booked the red eye and would be back in town in the morning. He added how much he thought they needed to talk and that he hoped she would forgive him.

Teddy rolled her eyes as she locked her phone. After everything the self-absorbed neurosurgeon had yelled at her during their fight, it was going to take a lot more than a couple of texts and a few smooth words to convince her to talk to him when he came calling. Instead, she pulled herself from her chair and walked toward the elevators. She decided that she would see if Leo was in daycare before she tried to find Owen.

Just as she was about to push the call button, the elevator doors opened, and Owen was standing right in front of her. A smile that could light up the sun spread across Teddy's face as tears of joy started to fall at the same time. She could tell from the look of utter surprise on her face, he had not run into Meredith.

"Hi." she said softly.

"Hey." Own stuttered back. "What are you doing here? You aren't scheduled to be back for another few days."

"Honestly?" Teddy said, as Owen began walking towards the ER locker room and she followed behind him. "You were right about Tom. The second we landed, he wanted to control everything I did, planning all these spa treatments. So much so that I didn't even have a free moment to think. After your fight with him at Katherine's party, he was fixated on how he could one up you at every turn, complaining about our relationship. It was more than I could stand so I booked a flight hom. When I told him, it turned into a huge argument which ended with him saying that I had lied to him and lead him on because I'm still in love with you."

Just as Teddy had finished speaking, Owen was pushing open the locker room door. Instead of going through, Owen stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the blonde woman behind him. She felt the intensity of his stare and looked down for a split second before walking past him through the open door to sit on a bench. Owen shook himself from his surprise and followed behind, sitting on the bench next to her.

"I got…" Tedy began to say.

"Is it…?" Owen began to ask.

Both doctors laughed at their attempt to speak at the same time. The tension in the room almost visibly lowered.

"You first." Owen continued.

"I read your messages." Teddy began. "Wait no, let me backup. After everything with Koracick blew up in my face, I knew I had to come home and apologize for not listening to you. For not trusting you enough to have our child's best interest in mind. I also knew that I needed to apologize to Amelia for once again up-ending her life with all of my drama. A part of me couldn't accept that you had chosen her, despite my actions being the cause, so I said things that I knew would get a reaction out of you that night."

Owen went to speak, but Teddy held up her hand. "Let me finish. When I got back this afternoon, I hadn't ready your messages. I had even turned my phone back on. I ran into Mere and she told me that you had a lot going on that you would probably want to tell me. That's when I turned my phone back on and read your messages."

"I wish I had enough words to tell you how sorry I am for screwing up your life but some of that would be a lie, because I get our daughter from all this craziness. I want to tell you that I hate that things didn't work out with Amelia, but I can't do that either because that would mean that I don't get to you how much I love you. I know that I have made so many mistakes but there are two things that I will never regret: loving you and making this little girl with you." Teddy said, placing a hand on her belling as she teared up. "We have been through so much crap together. We survived a war zone and a hospital shooting and everything in between. We have had some knock down, drag out fights where we said some horrible things to each other, but not once through any of it did I ever stop loving you. When I first came back and saw you with Amelia, Leo, and Betty, I just knew that I had thrown away my last shot at being with you. I knew that our child would bond us together, but that would be it. You had the family that you had always dreamt of having. But when I read those texts, you gave me hope, Owen. Hope that we can do this. That we can be a family. That you and I can raise Leo and this little girl," she took one of Owen's hands and placed it on her belly, "together."

Owen looked down at the slender fingers intertwined with his. He felt his daughter stir underneath their connected hands. Slowly, he pulled his fingers from Teddy's grasp and reached up to softly brush a stray tear from the blonde's face. Then without a second's hesitation, Owen held Teddy's face in his hands and gently kissed her lips.

Teddy felt her heart's rhythm quickly increase as Owen's lips sent a jolt of electricity down her spine. Just the simple touch of their lips instantly drove her crazy.

Before she knew it, Owen had pulled back to look her in the eye. She felt her face redden under his gaze, but she didn't want to break their eye contact. Instead, Teddy decided to lean back in, grazing her mouth against the red-headed trauma surgeon's in front of her, twisting her fingers in the auburn curls at the base of his neck. The growl that escaped from Owen's throat sent goose bumps down her spine for the second time as they both slid closer to each other, bridging the gap between their bodies.

With their bodies flush against each other, as much as Teddy's bump would allow, Owen slid one hand down her side, pressing into the dip at the small of her back; the other cradling the side of her face as they intensified their kiss. Using the hand at her back as leverage, Teddy pushed herself farther into Owen's arms, as if she was attempting to fuse their bodies together.

A soft "I love you," slipped from Teddy's lips before she could stop the words. She rested her forehead against Owen's rather reluctantly, as she attempted to catch her breath. "I love you, and I am sorry that I wasted so much time being angry at you for a reason that seems so trivial now. I promise that I will make it up to you and our daughter everyday for the rest of our lives."

Tears filled Owen's eyes as he brushed Teddy's tears away once again. "I have waited for too long to hear you say those words. And I am sorry for ever making you feel as though you were my second choice. You, Theodora Altman, are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am so excited to raise our children with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I'm coming! Keep your pants on!" a very grumpy Teddy yelled at whoever was pounding on the other side of her hotel room door. She threw the covers off her legs and slowly extricated herself from Owen's embrace.

Now standing, she grabbed her robe from the chair beside the bed and began pulling it on as she made her way to door. As she tied the belt loosely over her baby bump, she glanced out the peephole and let out an audible sigh. On the other side of the door was Tom Koracick, and Teddy didn't have enough energy to argue with Tom's wounded ego at, yes the clock was right, 5:45 in the morning. But at this point, the trauma surgeon didn't really have another option, so she softly opened the door, internally praying that Owen didn't wake up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think about the fact that I would be waking you up." Tom said, glancing at Teddy's disheveled hair and robe. "My flight just landed and I came straight here. Can we talk? I feel horrible about our fight."

"Look, Tom," Teddy began as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't really think there is much to be said. You said some very hurtful things, but things I needed to hear because they were true." She paused, pressing a hand into her side as the baby protested being up before the sun. "You were right. I am and pretty much always have been in love with Owen but I tried to put that aside because I thought that being with Amelia is what he wanted, but I was wrong."

A soft smile crossed the blonde's lips as she recalled the texts from Owen that had been waiting on her when she arrived back in Seattle. "When I landed in Seattle and went to Grey-Sloan yesterday, I ran into Owen. We had a long talk, and I realized that I can't keep lying to myself or to you. It's not fair to you or me or this little girl," she said, placing both hands across her every growing belly. "And you shouldn't want to settle for me because like you told me before I left, you deserve more than to have to play runner up to another man."

Tom stared at Teddy for a second and then started to speak. Before any words could escape his lips, his eyes darted up to look over Teddy's shoulder. Teddy instantly knew that he had seen Owen, and she hoped that the man was still sleeping.

"So you 'talked' with Owen," Tom sneered, "and what? He just happened to trip and fall into your bed? God, Teddy, do you take me for a fool? I knew that your feelings for me weren't the same as for Owen, but damn. I thought that you had more respect for yourself and for me than to just sleep with the man who broke your heart and then went back to his ex wife."

Teddy's jaw could have hit the floor from her shock at the neurosurgeon's words. "First of all, not that it's any of your business after everything you said to me, Owen and I didn't sleep together. I got pulled into a surgery. Owen brought me home after I finished, and we had dinner. I fell asleep while we were watching a movie. Second of all, Owen is the father of my child and your over-simplified assessment of our relationship is so out of bounds. Yes, he did got back to Amelia after Germany, but what you failed to mention is that I sent him away in the first place. And furthermore, it doesn't matter how he got there because he showed up. He showed up for me like he has always done for the last fifteen years. I'm sorry that you don't like my decision, and I'm even sorry that I led you on knowing that my feelings for Owen were something I would never be able to let go, but it's how I feel and right now that's more important. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed."

Tom opened his mouth to speak again, but he didn't get a chance to say anything before the door closed in his face. Teddy, eyes closed, pressed her back against the door and released a sigh. She knew that this wouldn't be the end of the argument with Tom, but for now she was going to crawl back into bed with Owen and relish being happy.

As she began to make her way back to the bed, she glanced at Owen and realized that he was awake, sitting up against the headboard, a smirk playing across his lips. "How much did you hear?" Teddy asked as she threw her robe back on the chair,

"Enough." Owen replied. "I woke up when you got out of bed, but I figured you just had to use the bathroom. When I heard the door open and Koracick's voice, I almost sat up then, but I decided to wait and see how he was going to play his hand."

"And if he had gotten loud? Were you going to come to my rescue?" Teddy questioned, one eyebrow raised. "Be my knight in dusty camo?"

Chuckling as she plopped down on the bed next to him, Teddy paused before she continued, "I do feel bad, sort of, for doing all this to him though. He didn't have any idea the history he was walking into when he asked me out."

Owen reached out and brushed a stray curl from Teddy's forehead. "That may be true, but the second that he realized that you returned a fraction of the feelings he saw that I have for you, he turned up the charm and did everything in his power to make me look like an ass. He definitely succeeded at Avery's. Although I will admit that my temper got the better of me. I just couldn't stand to look at his condescending face anymore."

Laughing at her daughter's father, Teddy turned and stretched out next to Owen. She leaned her back on the headboard and rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish that we had both thought things through more," the blonde sighed as she laced her fingers in Owen's. "I wish," she continued, "that I hadn't gotten so angry at that night in Germany. If I had just listened to you explain yourself back then, I could have saved both of us so much heartache, stress, and sleepless nights. I just…"

Owen, recognizing the downward emotional spiral that she was on, shifted, wrapping his arms around Teddy and enveloped her in a searing kiss. He grazed one hand up and down her arm as the other tangled in her blonde locks to anchor her lips to his. Finally, when oxygen became a necessity, he pulled his lips from hers; both gasping for air.

"Listen to me," he began, still panting and trying to catch his breath. Looking into Teddy's eyes, he continued, "regretting the past and wanting to relive it won't change anything. It might have made something simpler, but then there would be no lesson learned. That lesson for me was to not take the ones that I love the most for granted and to be honest with my feelings because it's so much easier in the long run. You can turn over all the what if's in the world but, we are here together, and at the end of the day, that's the most important thing."

The tears that had begun to well up in Teddy's eyes before Owens kiss were now cascading down the woman's face as she listened to Owen's words. She knew, in her heart, that he was right. She couldn't go back and change the past. She could only affect the future. She took a cleansing breath, her voice shaky and full of emotion. "I love you so much, Owen Hunt. I love you for knowing me so well. I love you for your pragmatic sense of humor. I love you for knowing just what I need to hear, even if you know that I don't want to hear it. But most of all, I love you for believing that we are here for a reason and for reminding me that a hard fought past has the promise of a beautiful future." She spread her hands across her belly. "Our beautiful future starts with this little girl and with Leo and with our family. I know we have so much to talk about and figure out, but no matter what, all I know is that I want to grow old with you, Owen Hunt. I want to love you until the day I die because you are my once in a lifetime kind of love."


	3. Hindsight 3

A few hours later, Teddy was woken by the buzzing of her cell phone and the shower running; Owen's side of the bed vacant. Groping around the bedside table with her eyes still closed, she located the offending device. Against her will, she cracked one eye to find out if she actually wanted to answer. Staring back at her was Megan Hunt's smiling face in a picture they had taken together after Megan's abdominal surgery a few years before. While Teddy was sure that Owen hadn't told his sister of their bundle of joy, she wasn't sure if he had told her that she had moved back to Seattle.

Nevertheless, Teddy took a deep breath and answered the call. "Hey, Megs! How is California?"

"Teddy! It's about time! I thought you were screening my calls there for a minute," Megan exclaimed on the other end of the call.

"I promise I'm not, Teddy began, as she heard the shower cut off. "I was in surgery when you called last night and I collapsed from exhaustion when I got home. What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in. She how things are going," Megan replied. "Wait...it was like 8 in the morning in Germany when I called. What do you mean you were in surgery last night?"

Teddy could have kicked herself for the slip up, but she guessed that now was as good a time as any to tell Megan that she was back in Seattle at least. "Well… I moved back to Seattle. I'm back on staff at Grey-Sloan Memorial."

Just as Teddy finished her sentence, Owen came out of the bathroom, clad in only a towel. Not noticing she was on the phone, he asked, "Do you want to order room service or grab breakfast on the way to work? I don't have to be in until 11. Amelia texted that she would drop Leo off at daycare so that we didn't have to go pick him up since she has to work today as well."

"Teddy! Is that Owen? What the hell is going on?! You're back in Seattle and I'm just now finding out?"Megan practically yelled on the other end of the line.

Shooting daggers at Owen with one look, Teddy answered, "Megan. I promise that I will explain everything, but not right now. I will call you back soon. I love you, Megs."

"Don't you dare…" was all that Teddy heard as she disconnected the call.

"I'm guessing that was Megan on the phone," Owen said, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Ya think?!" Teddy responded while chucking a pillow at him. "I hadn't told her that I had moved back or that you had given me your job. And I sure as hell haven't told her about the baby, since up until yesterday it seemed that neither of us could get our shit together."

Still clad in his towel, Owen sat down on the bed next to Teddy. "I'm sorry that she heard my voice on the phone. And I'm sorry that I forced you to tell Megan that you had moved before you were ready, even if it was by accident," he said, plucking at the hem of Teddy's pajama top. "I know how overzealous my little sister can be, and I know that she will be relentless until she gets the whole story out of you."

Teddy plopped back on the bed, her mess of blonde curls fanning out to frame her face. "Out of us. You know that she is going to hound both of us until we tell her exactly what she wants to know. She's always been too good at getting information out of us."

"I know," Owen sighed as he stretched out next to Teddy on his side. Propping his head up on one arm, he continued, "But this is our secret to tell," bringing his free hand to rest on top of Teddy's bump. "We don't have to explain everything to her until we are ready." Pausing, he corrected himself, "Until you're ready."

"You are entirely too good to me, Owen Hunt," the blonde said as she stroked his cheek. "If we put off letting the car out of the bag too long, you know as well as I do, Megan will show up on our doorstep demanding answers and getting the surprise of her life."

Chuckling at the humor and truth of Teddy's words, Owen looked at the mother of his child, causing her to squirm under his gaze, before he spoke. "Speaking of our doorstep… Where is that going to be? You can't keep living in a hotel room and I want to be able to help you with anything and everything I can before baby girl gets here."

Quickly hiding her face in the curve of Owen's shoulder, Teddy lay there for a few seconds contemplating her answer before she gave it. She didn't have a clue of what the future held save for the fact that their daughter would be born in less than three months. She knew that Owen was right about living in a hotel, but she didn't know if this was his offer for her to move in with him and Leo. And to be honest, Teddy didn't know if she could live in the house that Owen and Amelia had made a home.

As if sensing her internal struggle, Owen softly nudged her with his shoulder until she shifted her head enough to look into her eyes. "Hey, we don't have to make any permanent decisions right this second. It's just something we need to think about soon. I will support whatever you decide."

Hiding her face again so Owen couldn't see the tears flowing down her face, she mumbled, "I ant a ome wit you an Eo."

Laughing once again at the emotional pregnant woman wrapped in his arms, Owen chuckled, "What did you say? I didn't quite catch that."

"I want a home with you and Leo." she repeated, more clearly this time. "I want a home to bring our daughter into. I want a place where we are a family and can shut out the world, letting it just be the four of us. I can't stand the thought of being away from you and we can't expect Amelia to take Leo every night until we figure all this out."

Owen tangled his fingers in the fine hair at the base of Teddy's skill, softly drawing her face up to his. "Will you move in with me? We can set up the second bedroom for you and baby girl if you don't feel comfortable bunking with me j…"

The end of Owen's sentence was cut off as Teddy pressed her lips to his. Now it was her turn to tangle her fingers in the short, soft curls at the base of his head. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip, taking him by surprise. Owen's hand that had been resting on her belly was now pressing into her lower back, pulling Teddy as closely to him as their unborn daughter would allow. With every second that passed, the heat between them rose. Owen allowed the hand at Teddy's back to dip down to grasp her ass.

Spurred on by Owen's movements, Teddy hooked her knee and ankle over Owen's hip, giving her the leverage she needed to flip him on to his back in one fluid motion despite her belly. The blonde was now in control of the situation and she planned to fully use that power to her benefit.

Beneath her, Owen sat up, wrapping his hands around the curves of her hips. He slowly began to nip and kiss just under Teddy's jaw line. Those kisses were short lived because Teddy took that precise moment to grind down on Owen's growing erection, covered by nothing more than the hotel towel, looking for the friction that her aroused body was craving.

A soft growl sounded from Owen's throat as he pulled back from Teddy for the second time that morning, panting and searching for the breath to speak.

Teddy, from her spot on his lap, knees on either side of his, leaned back down in the attempt to capture the redhead's lips again, but Owen stopped her, his thumb running across her swollen bottom lip.

"Hey. Hold on," Owen said, staring up at the gorgeous woman above him. "Slow down. We haven't been together since Germany. I don't want to rush anything. Things literally just got good between us again. I don't want to do something you aren't ready for."

Her eyes, still smoldering with lust, crinkled as she chuckled at the half-naked man she was currently straddling. "Owen, I love you. I am in love with you. I am also pregnant with your child. We aren't rushing anything. I want you," she continued as she pushed him flat against the bed with one hand and removed her pajama top with the other. "Correction: I need you. I have wanted to get you in this bed since I saw you yesterday at the hospital. So no, I don't want to slow down."

Taking Owen's hands, Teddy slowly and softly placed them on her ample, bare breasts. "I want to make love to you, Owen. We have a lot of time to make up for," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear before she enveloped his lips once again, pushing her hips down into his.


	4. Chapter 4

Teddy fell back for the third time, panting, on her pillow as Owen placed a gentle kiss on the side of her neck. A kiss that was so very different from the fevered, passionate ones he had showered upon her not even five minutes before. They had spent the last two hours as they had that night in Germany, making love and talking about their memories. The only difference was now they also talked about their future.

"Teddy," Owen said, trying to sound stern as he pulled the sheet up to cover both of them, "our daughter needs a name. We can't call her baby girl for the rest of her life."

Teddy chuckled, "I don't know why not. You will never call her by any name we give her. She's always going to be Baby Girl or whatever nickname of endearment you can come up with."

"That is not true!" Owen scoffed. "Okay, maybe it's a little true," he said at Teddy's raised eyebrow. "But we can't put Baby Girl on her birth certificate."

"I know. I know." Teddy said, hands raised in surrender as she shifted to her side so she could face Owen. "I've been throwing an idea around in my head for a long time, but I don't know how you'll feel."

Raising his head to prop it up on one hand, Owen replied, "Okay. We can always start a list."

"Allison Hope Altman-Hunt." Teddy murmured, a hopeful expression on her face. "Allison was my best friend and I miss her every day. Her memory gave me the strength to join the Army, and the Army is where I found you. Hope because I always tried to have hope that somehow the universe would make a way for us. Hope gave me the strength to hold on, and now I have our daughter and I have you, just as I had always prayed."

Owen lay there, speechless. Then after a second, shook away the haze and smiled as he reached out to brush a tear from Teddy's cheek. "I think that is a beautiful name and perfect for our baby girl," he replied. "To be completely honest, I have been thinking about suggesting using Allison's name since we found out the baby was a girl, but I didn't know how you would feel about it."

Teddy let out a sigh of relief and realized that she had been holding her breath the whole time Owen was talking. She knew that he would probably agree to any name she suggested, within reason. She also knew that Owen understood how important Allison had been to her, so she didn't even know why she had worried that he would disagree.

Suddenly the alarm from Teddy's phone began to sound making both doctors jump. Teddy quickly grabbed the device, shutting off the offending noise before she turned back to face the man beside her in the bed.

"It's 9:45. We have to be at the hospital in a couple hours, and I need a shower before we go," the blonde sighed as she let her fingers wander across the plains of Owen's face. "And I'm sure you could use another after all of our physical activity."

Owen laughed aloud at Teddy's description of their earlier antics but nodded in agreement. "I do. I wasn't planning on getting so hot and sweaty before work," he replied with a wink.

Rising from her place on the bed, Teddy raised her arms above her head and Owen watched, seeing their daughter's movements as her mother stretched. Seeing Owen's eyes on her belly, Teddy reached for his hand and placed it at the top of the swell. " Give her a second and she'll kick you. She's been very active first thing in the morning for the last few days."

Sure enough, Owen only had to wait a few seconds before he felt a powerful push from under his hand. Teddy's eyes filled with tears as an expression of pure joy spread across Owen's face at the movement of the baby. She could see just how mesmerized he was by the realization that his child was growing beneath his hand.

Running her fingers through the short, red curls that were sticking out on top of his head, Teddy murmured, "Owen, I have to get a shower or we are never going to make it to work on time."

Owen's shoulders drooped a little as he nodded. He leaned forward and laid a soft kiss where his hand had just been resting before he looked up at Teddy.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" Teddy questioned in response.

"For giving me a daughter. For wanting to be a family. For loving me, but for also loving Leo," he returned, rising to stand in front of her. "Thank you for not giving up on me even when we were both being stubborn. But most of all, thank you for giving me everything I've ever wanted and more."


End file.
